<3 Such is the life of a stay at home mommy and Army wife (:

A lot of in progress reading this week. My hubby came home after being gone for three weeks at military training so we’ve been having some family time. To say the kids are ecstatic that their daddy is home is the understatement of the century!

Completed:Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

Currently Reading:

In Defenseof the Queen by Michelle Diener (keep an eye out for a review!)

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I should be reading. The house is (mostly) quiet. Hubby and baby are sleeping. Toddler woke me up when he crawled into bed at 8am this morning. He was content with cuddles for about 10 minutes, then he was ready to take on his little world. He asked for a cup of milk while I fixed breakfast and waited on brewing coffee. He brought his iPod to me, asking for it to be turned on. Early morning puzzles. This kid loves his puzzles as much as he loves his books. I meant to write this yesterday at the library, but I forgot the laptop when we left to get his haircut.

At two, he loves to go to the library. He makes a beeline straight for the train table and Lego table. He’s still content with mama picking out the books. It’s my current goal for us to read all of Eric Carle’s books. I’m sure we could do it in one fell swoop, but I like to spread them out. Sometimes, Punky picks some books. Yesterday, he saw a few Thomas books so we picked up three of them.

I hope I am fostering a love of reading in Punky and Ladybug. I don’t want them to ever feel that they HAVE to read because mama and daddy do. Books will always be easily accessible to them and library trips will be encouraged.

Hubby and I were talking education last night on the way home from my dad’s house. Kids in kindergarten now have to go in KNOWING what hubby and I LEARNED in kindergarten. It baffles me how those in charge of education departments (most of them never having set foot in a classroom as a teacher, only as a student) continue to force more and more standards down. Forcing things to be taught at a younger and younger age. Do some psychology study. Small minds are built to handle only so much at a time and aren’t able to comprehend stuff until certain ages.

In this world full of technology, I fear we are losing some of the simple pleasures and talents of life. A discussion with my mom and a few friends the other night brought a shocking thought to my mind. Cursive is rarely if ever taught in schools now because it isn’t a “tested subject.” First cursive, next printing? We live in an every increasing dependency on technology. It brought to mind the world in the Matched series where writing at all wasn’t taught. For being so technologically advanced, they were rather behind. Is that what we’re heading toward? Will my grandchildren learn to write in schools? Or will it last out until perhaps my great-great grandchildren? Education is precious as are the small minds in the education system. Someone in preschool will one day grow up to be president. I hope that education begins to flourish again so we aren’t one day ruled by someone absolutely ignorant. (No, I do NOT wish to start a political debate on current or past presidents and if comments are made to stir it up, they WILL be deleted.)

I love to read. My children currently love when we read to them. I know many children today don’t get that. All it is, is TV and video games. While I can, I will limit exposure to “technology.” To me, playing and reading are far superior than learning technology. Saying this, my son knew how to work our Kindle Fires at 9 months old… so there’s only so much I can do!

Now that I’ve gotten my mini rant off my chest, I’m going to get back to reading. The peace in this house will only last for so much longer. Plus we have company coming in for the weekend. It won’t be polite to keep my nose shoved in a book the whole weekend! (:

What are your feelings on technology and education? Do you want to keep it simple or do you think a complete technological takeover is the best way? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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How does this work? The goal is to increase blog followers and make friends. First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools — keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them “hi” in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

That being said, I am happy to say I was selected to be a feature for today! I’m super excited since I’m just getting started.

When did you start blogging?

I started this blog back in the fall of 2011. Originally, I intended to do a blog inspired by Julie and Julia, but that never really happened. I had a newborn to take care of, my hubby had a travel job, and cooking for one just isn’t fun. A few other failed ventures and I finally found my niche in book blogging this summer. Haven’t looked back!

What is your favourite part of book blogging?

I’d have to say that my favourite part of book blogging so far is getting connected with so many new people and hearing about so many great books!

What type of books do you mainly blog about?

I haven’t gotten many reviews up yet, but I will (probably) be mainly blogging about YA books with a few adult novels thrown in too. I’m in my mid 20s, so I’m in that realm between two book worlds. YA will always have a special place in my heart though! I doubt I will ever stop reading it.

What is your favourite book(s)?

This is a toughie! I’m always drawn to say Harry Potter, because that is what launched my continuous love of reading, but I’ve read so many great books over the years. I’ll go with my favourite book to read to my kiddos – Love you Forever.

What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

The best thing so far that has happened to me is getting the opportunity to read and review books before they are released. I’ve always dreamed about having a chance to do that, and it’s coming true!

***This week’s question is: If you could only have ONE – one book – for the rest of your life. Don’t cheat… what would it be?***

This will be a bit out of the ordinary for me, but I would have to choose the Bible. I’ve always wanted to read all of it, and I can’t think of a better book to be “stuck” with and read over and over. My great-grandfather read it cover to cover several times and was one of the best men I’ve ever known. I would like to read it through at least once before I die.

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Thanks for dropping by to my small bit of the reading/blogging universe. I prefer to be followed on Bloglovin’ or by email for my blog, and you’re always welcome to follow me on Twitter! (@armywife2310) Thanks, Parajunkee for this opportunity!

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I found this over on Kaitlin’s (@KaitlinS16) Twitter. She tweeted one of her follower’s link to her page and it took me back to Kaitlin’s. I then decided I’d like to sit down and think of my own Blogging Bucket List. I’ve just recently started seriously blogging and have kinda been mulling around where I would like to see this go. I’ll start small and add to this as I go.

Basic goals:

Have fun

Meet new friends and strengthen current blogging friendships

Help promote authors’ works

Introduce fellow bookworms to new reads

Be introduced to new reads

Work on my review writing

Balance blogging, reading, housewifery, and kiddos

Numerical goals: (by mid-2014)

Hit 100 followers on Twitter

Hit 20 followers on Bloglovin’

Hit 20 followers via email

Do 40 reviews (30 of which are ARC/DRC)

Book and Review Goals

Review my first ARC/DRC from NetGalley

Review my first ARC/DRC from Edelweiss

Once I get through current approvals only request 5 books a month to review

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“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine. It showcases upcoming releases we’re anticipating!

My pick of the week is:

Champion (Legend #3)

by Marie Lu

Coming: 5 November 2013

Publisher: Putnam Juvenille

Summary

He is a Legend.
She is a Prodigy.
Who will be Champion?

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic—and each other—and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government’s elite circles as Princeps Elect while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But neither could have predicted the circumstances that will reunite them once again. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic’s border cities. This new strain of plague is deadlier than ever, and June is the only one who knows the key to her country’s defense. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has. With heart-pounding action and suspense, Marie Lu’s bestselling trilogy draws to a stunning conclusion.

Why I’m excited
I fell in love with June and Day in Legend. Their story sucked me up and never let me go. I am so excited to see where their journey is going to carry them! Words fail me at how excited I am about this upcoming release!

Why I need you to be excited
Have you read Legend and Prodigy? If yes, then you should be excited. If no, read them, and GET excited! (:

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Secondary Characters

1. Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter The giggles I had while growing up and reading about their antics were some of the best!

2. Cinna from The Hunger Games I loved EVERYTHING about Cinna. I loved that he didn’t care for the unfairness of the Hunger Games, but was willing to help Katniss in anyway he could.

3. Jasper Whitlock Hale from Twilight I debated if I would use Twilight, but let’s face it – I’m in LOVE with Jasper. My first military love (; He has no real ties to keep him with the Cullens, but his love for Alice is epic.

4. Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter Her fierce loyalty is inspiring. She’s perceived as kinda loony, but she just has a vivid imagination. She has an innocence that a lot of people try to take advantage of, but she’s strong enough to resist.

5. Jacquetta Rivers from The Cousin’s War series. Mother of Elizabeth Woodville, Jacquetta is a very strong willed and protective mother. She’s a secondary character in The White Queen and a background character in The Red Queen. She does have her own book in the series, but I’m going off the two that I’ve finished. When she and Elizabeth’s baby die in each others’ arms, I bawled my eyes out and had to go check on my own sweet babies.

6. Jules from The Revenants series. Yes, he has his own novella, but outside of that he’s a minor MC or a strong secondary character. I love Jules. He’s a great friend and isn’t afraid to sacrifice his happiness for maintaining his friendship.

7. Foaly from Artemis Fowl Foaly always has Holly’s back and even Artemis when the time calls for it. His paranoia of the humans is funny, but his value of friendship is inspiring.

9. Severus Snape from Harry Potter Consistently a secondary until the end, Snape’s value is underestimated through the whole series. I called that he was the Half-Blood Prince, even if my reason was wrong. (I SWORE he was vampire!) His hidden love for Lily was heartbreaking. The constant reminder of her marriage to James in front of him in the image of Harry must’ve been sheer torture. The Prince’s Tale? Best. Chapter. EVER.

10. Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird He showed us, through Scout’s eyes, that though we may be afraid of something just because of rumours we hear, it’s always best to learn first hand. You could be missing out on something great just because everyone says to avoid it.

I’m sure if I sat and pondered longer, I could come up with a heap more, but these are some of the ones who touched my heart the most. Who are your favourite secondary characters? Are any of mine on your list? Feel free to leave your link! I would love to check out your list!

Currently ReadingPretty Dark Nothing by Heather ReidIn Defense of the Queen by Michelle DienerCity of Bones by Cassandra Clare

New to my shelf
ARC Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
ARC Ink by Amanda Sun
ARC Awaken by Meg Cabot
(those three were won in a contest on Good Choice Reading)The Madman’s Daughterby Megan Shepherd
DRC The Outlaw Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick

Summary: Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Oh wow. All the feels for sure with this one! I could hardly put this one down. I am a HUGE fan of Greek mythology so when this came recommended and I looked into it, I immediately requested it from the library.

I’ve always been interested in the Persephone myth. Then again, anything involving Greek mythology, I’m fairly interested in. Some more than others. I have a statue of Artemis on my desk that I bought in Greece. I LOVE Artemis.

I’ve always found the thought of immortality intriguing. Cultures around the world have different myths about the search for immortality. Various creatures have obtained immortality.

From page one, Ashton pulled me into this new telling of an old myth. The Greek underworld is called the Everneath. There are the Everlivings (the immortals) and the Shades. We are soon introduced to Cole who is the Everliving with the claim over Nikki Beckett who is his Forefeit. It starts with her last moments in the Everneath before she Returns to the Surface. I was immediately curious about what could possibly drive a 17 year old to want to give up everything to have her emotions drained from her. I’ve had my fair share of struggles with depression. It started when my parents divorced when I was in 8th grade and I’ve struggled with it ever since. The worst it got is when it went from depression to full blown horrendous postpartum depression after my son was born. I was consumed with all of the “bad” emotions. I cried all the time, I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t want to hear my baby cry. It was a dark, dark time in my life. I didn’t want to feel anything anymore. Finally, once I was close to being pushed over the edge of getting on my own nerves with my overly caustic sarcasm, I asked for help. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I’d been in Becks’ place. Would I have asked to have the pain taken away or would I have sought out the help I did.

Becks’ struggle to regain control of her emotions felt very similar to my struggle to balance my emotions as I adjusted to my antidepressant. It took a while for things to balance out. For me, it was a matter of weeks compared to Becks’ months.

I admire Becks’ strength to return even though she knew she was facing leaving again and for good this time. I would probably do the same. Just to see my family and friends one last time. It’s not a thought I like, but I have letters written to my two children and my husband in the event something ever happens to me. I would want them to have something to always remind them of my love. Leaving our loved ones is never an easy thought, and being constantly reminded that you’re a ticking time bomb wouldn’t make it any easier.

I loved the relationship between Jack and Becks. I loved that they were friends before they gave their relationship a chance to develop into something deeper. It’s a refreshing change from the puppy love that is in a lot of YA. I had a relationship like this in HS, but the result was not as good as Jack and Becks. We realised we were better as friends and nothing more. Their struggle to understand what happened to their relationship and to rebuild it, was amazing. Despite having undeniable facts thrown in his face, Jack kept coming back trying to help Becks. Definitely a true love relationship.

I thought it was very interesting having the before the Feed and after the Return aspect of the story. It let us see what led Becks to her decision to go to the Everneath with Cole. It let us see the consequences of that choice. It was a constant reminder that even if we try to run a way from something, it doesn’t just effect us, it effects everyone around us. Jack suffered the most by Becks’ disappearance. Even though he was destroyed by her leaving, he was willing to understand and work through her Return.

The ending. Whoa. All sorts of feels. For about the last 40 pages I went from tearing up to all out bawling. True love wins out. Such a sacrifice. Wow. I’m still in awe and shock. I can’t wait to see where Neverfall and Everbound take Jack, Becks, and Cole!

Funny side note: While I was reading this, my baby girl kept trying to swipe the book from me. It became her inspiration to “creep” across the bed to get it. If I put it down, she was after it. What can I say? Kid’s got good taste in books already! (:Recommended for: Lovers of mythology retellings, immortality, quests for redemption, and a bit of romanceNot recommended for: Those who dislike fantasy or think the immortality thing has been played out.

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“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine. It showcases upcoming releases we’re anticipating!

My pick of the week is:

Frozen (Heart of Dread #1)

by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston

Coming: 17 September 2013

Publisher: Putnam Juvenille

Summary

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she’s heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

Why I’m excited
I LOVED The Blue Bloods series. I was sad to see it end. I haven’t read Witches of East End, but I’m excited that she has another YA series coming out. My TBR list is super long right now, so I probably won’t get to it til after Christmas, but I’m so excited to get my hands on this one.

Why I need you to be excited
Magic and a frozen world? C’mon! The possibilities for this one are ENDLESS! Come explore it with me!

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Things that Make Blogging Life Easier/Better

1. Goodreads I started using Goodreads back in the winter. It is great to help log all of the books I’ve read, want to read, own, etc. I love it!

2. Library As a stay at home mama to two kids, books don’t get purchased often. Or if they do, they’re ones I know I’ll like or I have already read them, but don’t own them. The library is great because I can get up to 20 items at a time for free. The downer of this is I have to share my 20 items with my kids til they turn 6 and can get their own card. They love being read to, so we’re at the library frequently to rotate books for them. (I’m actually working from our library now! Our children’s library is huge and great to work in with the kids. Bug sits with me and Punk plays – today he has everything to himself, yay school being back in session!)

2. WordPress Let’s face it, without wordpress, there would be no Whimsical Mama!

3. Spotify/Pandora/Amazon Video I don’t work well with silence. I’m too ADD to sit in complete silence. If I don’t have some noise going on in the background, my mind goes crazy jumping all over the place. I discovered Pandora in HS and started with Spotify a year or so ago. I love music. Music is a huge part of my life and has been since day one. It’s always on in the house. I love Amazon Video, because I can throw on a show I’ve seen and have that as background noise too. Currently rewatching The Tudors. I love me some Jonathan Rhys Meyers! (TMI TOMORROW!!!)

4. Notebook I’ve kept a journal for as long as I can remember. Now, I keep book notes as well. I have a full size journal on my nightstand and several small journals stashed in various places around the house and in my purse and diaper bag.

5. Kindles Understand one thing. I am a physical copy girl over digital copy any day, but let’s face it. I have two small children. A diaper bag will be in my future for several more years. All their crap plus carrying around a giant book just isn’t gonna cut it. I SWORE I would NEVER buy a kindle. I lasted for that for a good long while. I got my Kindle Fire for Christmas almost two years ago. I instantly fell in love. I could carry around as many books as I wanted and it took up almost zero space! Then came summertime. I love to sit out in the sun and read. With the Kindle Fire’s LCD screen, you can’t really see. I toughed it out by doing my best and reading physical books. Then I played around with my mom’s Kindle Touch. I loved it and decided to get one for myself. Luckily I still had some money left on a gift card from Christmas (: I love that I have digital copies of some of my favourite books, and can easily carry around the DRCs I’m approved for.

7. PBS, bouncer, swing, toys I have a toddler. He loves PBS. We have a morning routine of watching several shows while he plays. This gives me a great chance to do a lot of my blog work. So do naps and bedtime. I have a baby. She loves her bouncer and swing. When she’s content to be in those and not cuddling close, she plays happily in them. Toys are pretty self explanatory. They’re good at occupying themselves and each other while playing.

8. Friends Real life and virtual world friends. If it weren’t for Mary @ Mary Had a Little Book Blog, I probably would’ve never found my niche for blogging. She and Alex @ Peace, Love, and Fangirl are definitely my two best blogging friends.

9. Twitter Twitter has definitely opened a doorway to make blogging easier. It’s enabled me to chat with Mary and Alex on an almost daily basis, and has allowed me to interact with authors I’ve grown to love!

10. NetGalley & Edelweiss If it weren’t for these two great companies, I wouldn’t be able to have access to so many wonderful DRCs. I know book printing is expensive, and the internet has given publishers a way to bypass that expense. I never thought when I started this journey earlier this summer that I would’ve been approved for as many books as I have. Lesson learned. Do not underestimate my power as a reader. I requested like 40 something books and have been approved for most of them so far… eep!

Now, on the flip side. Things that make my blogging life more difficult.

1. Kids I love them. I really, really do. My kids make my reading and blogging life super difficult. My son wants to be read to if he’s not sleeping or playing. My daughter wants to snuggle all the time. Great and bad things all at the same time. I’m still learning on how to balance all of this. Naptime is quickly becoming my best friend for uninterrupted reading. Morning PBS routine is good for blogging because it’s not that hard to stop and help them. I generally keep notes so I don’t lose my train of thought. Book derailing is a bit more difficult to recover from – at least for me.

2. Family Right now since I’m just getting started in this whole big review world, they aren’t too sure about it. This is a side of the reader world they’ve never ventured into. Other than one of my aunts who worked at Borders in Albuquerque, I don’t think anyone knew what an ARC/DRC is. So far they have been supportive and that’s all I can ask of them.

3. Internet Like I said earlier, bad ADD if there is silence. Well, I have bad ADD on the internet too. My hubby can tell you that I usually have a slew of windows open. Facebook, Amazon, Pinterest, email, etc. I read about an interesting app that keeps you limited to certain things during certain times and I think I’m gonna give it a look.

4. TBR list Now that seems weird, right? How can my to be read list harm my blogging life? Easy. When I started this earlier this summer, I had a few books planned to review to give me a start. I have some giveaway books to read as well as a few I’ve recently gotten either from the library or Amazon. I never anticipated that I would be approved for as many ARCs as I have been. My first day on NetGalley, I requested like 20 books and requested more that week and also on Edelweiss. Now I’m swamped in books. I have a rough reading schedule sketched out for the next few months. I’m trying really hard to mix ARCs with for fun books.

5. Housework I’m a stay at home mama. I have two kids. Our kitchen is (almost) remodeled. There’s stuff everywhere in our house. Two kids = never ending supply of laundry. I actually had to take throw some laundry in after lunch before I got to jump back into this after we got home from the library. I have dishes that need washed. I have sheets that need changed. Housework really cuts into reading time, which cuts into blogging time. Vicious cycle haha.

What helps you in the reading and blogging world? Do you participate in TTT? Feel free to post your link! I’d love to read it!